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“I am….”

The High Priest spoke with a deep thought in his mind.

“I believe we must categorize according to the severity of the sins.”

“Severity? Light and heavy?”

“Yes. We should treat them differently based on how much wrongdoing they’ve committed and how severe those sins are.”

The severity of sins, huh…

“Just as Shamash, the God of Law and Justice, meticulously distinguishes and handles all sins, it seems only right that those who have fled from the temple and become necromancers pay for their crimes accordingly, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed. Even if they all escaped, the punishment should vary based on their sins.”

Well, that’s usually how it goes. Not everyone who became a necromancer harmed others to gain power.

How can we punish someone who just dug up graves the same way as someone who committed murder?

“That makes sense.”

“Yes. By weighing the crimes of the necromancers, we can stamp the mark on those who took many lives, ensuring they serve their time in the afterlife. Then, we should burn all their magical power and sever the muscles of their limbs before sending them to South Romania.”

“So, executions will take place in South Romania.”

“Yes. They would want to execute those who caused trouble themselves.”

“Indeed… Since we can’t keep them alive anyway, we can leave the cleanup to South Romania.”

If we do that, South Romania’s grievances should subside.

“How many necromancers have we captured?”

“154 in total. Of those, 52 have committed serious crimes.”

“Is that number known in South Romania?”

“Not exactly. The inquisition didn’t inform South Romania about those arrested and transported them directly.”

“Then… let’s handle the 52 who committed serious crimes in that manner. They won’t be able to live long after their limbs’ muscles are severed and all their magical power is burnt away, anyway.”

“Understood. As for the 102 who have comparatively lighter sentences…”

The High Priest’s voice was cautious. He seemed to want to help them as much as possible…

“Are there any among those with lighter sentences who harmed people?”

“As far as I’m aware, no. Most merely dug up graves, stole corpses, or killed livestock to absorb the Energy of Death from their remains.”

Indeed. They seem to be those who haven’t crossed the line.

“Many among them were once faithful priests of the Church or children entrusted to the Church. It seems they were unable to resist once the atmosphere of the temple shifted to that of necromancers.”

“Unable to resist… What about those who committed serious crimes?”

“Most of them were former mages.”

Ugh. Are mages the problem? They’re so curious that they can’t see the lines they shouldn’t cross!

Gaining knowledge is great! But they should know what to protect!

Actually, maybe they approached with that very purpose…!

“Ah… Going forward, please be especially cautious when mages join the Church of Life. We can’t guarantee such incidents won’t happen again.”

“I’ve already issued the orders.”

The High Priest seems to think along the same lines as I do! It’s good to have curiosity, but crossing the line is unacceptable!

Ah, what I should focus on right now isn’t this, though.

“So, what do you plan to do with those whose crimes are lighter?”

“I hope to impose appropriate punishment where possible, allowing them to atone for their sins…”

Hmm. Atonement, atonement…

Pilgrimage for atonement… Hmm. That feels like something the pilgrims are already doing, so it doesn’t seem like genuine atonement.

In that case, should I create a temple where they can’t escape, akin to a prison, and have them atone for their sins?

Maybe preparing a temple for atonement, isolated like a monastery, wouldn’t be a bad idea.

After their period of atonement ends… Using the Energy of Death to assign tasks that regular priests wouldn’t be able to handle could be acceptable.

Since they most likely would be more acquainted with death than other priests, they would take care of funeral duties or perhaps even make the corpses move and take them back to their hometowns, or temporarily summon the souls of the deceased while communicating with the afterlife? Ah, of course, reincarnation might complicate things!

I thought about using necromancy… but that does seem a bit risky! Let’s just keep it to things that won’t become an issue!

Anyway, if we can utilize the knowledge and magic that the necromancers possess and create proper divine magic, it should work out!

Like a priest of death. A priest living with the burden of sins, focusing on atonement!

Of course, it must remain a secret to the outside world. It seems the bad reputation of the necromancers who raised corpses and caused trouble has spread rather widely.

“First, let’s allow them to spend time in the previously problematic temple for atonement. The duration will depend on the severity of their crimes, but… let’s set a maximum of 10 years.”

Only a maximum, of course. If they haven’t committed further crimes, they should be able to leave quickly.

“Ten years at most… isn’t that a bit short?”

“However, considering a human life struggling to survive for even 60 years, ten years is quite substantial. Of course, they will need to remain under supervision to prevent them from committing further sins…”

Once they’ve atoned and are released, if they commit further crimes, it’ll be much harder to find forgiveness.

“Understood. I’ll consider placing them under the watch of places like the inquisition.”

“Oh, and make it so they can be released after a certain period without causing any problems. Roughly twice the atonement period?”

“Understood.”

Alright, it seems we can proceed with this notion for the atonement of sinners.

“Ah, afterward, I’ll attempt to create some divine magic that correctly uses the Energy of Death.”

“Will that be okay? The Energy of Death is…”

“Death is also a part of life. If too much medicine is used, it becomes poison; if the poison is reduced and used, it becomes medicine—death’s energy can work in the same way.”

And if negative public opinion arises due to the necromancers, it might reflect slightly negatively on me, who embodies the aspect of the god of death!

Death itself is not wrong! It’s the necromancers who misused it! That’s the feeling!

“There should be no notion that death is inherently negative. Life moves forward, stepping over numerous deaths along the way. If we deny death, we inevitably deny life.”

“That’s true, but…”

“So, I’ll think of divine magic using the necromancers’ spells correctly. If their magic is used properly, it can benefit many.”

Magic absorbing vitality could weaken enemies while healing others, and the technique for moving corpses could guide the deceased back to their hometowns.

Additionally, I could temporarily summon the souls of recently deceased individuals or even restore gruesomely dead bodies to a more presentable state! I could achieve all that through my divine magic!

Ah, I have to add that too. Magic that purifies the Energy of Death from the corpses and transforms it into clean energy.

The Energy of Death emanating from corpses instinctively craves life that is lacking in itself. It’s not something that can be easily utilized otherwise.

If we leave that energy unchecked… it could gather too much and cause the corpses to rise unexpectedly. Hmm.

Thus, let’s create appropriate divine magic that will be helpful, appoint those who have paid their debts to death as priests of death, and teach them.

In a way, it might serve as a punishment unit, and they might end up engaging in tasks others wish to avoid… but…

There should be those who do such work.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Priests of Death?”

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

Amidst the weary soldiers, the rumor began to circulate.

A rumor about the priests of the Church of Life clad in black robes.

Though they were usually dressed in white, there were whispers they had spotted priests in black amidst them.

“But someone on guard yesterday said he saw them and secretly told me!”

“Was it Jack from yesterday’s guard?”

“Jack… he was killed in the morning’s battle, wasn’t he?”

At that, the mood among the soldiers grew grim.

The forefront faced the Demon King’s army. Every day, they fought for their lives against the endlessly advancing enemies in a fortress.

It was a fierce battlefield where one could not predict when or who would die.

“Talking about priests of death is just bad luck.”

“But…”

“If you don’t want to die, don’t bring up such foolish rumors. We haven’t forgotten what we’re fighting against, right?”

“…….”

The soldier who mentioned the priests of death couldn’t bear the glares from those around him and quietly fell silent.

On this battlefield, the main enemy was the corpses risen from death.

“Alright. Enough rambling, prepare your weapons. We never know when those bones will come rushing in.”

Thus, they wiped the rumors of the priests of death from their minds.

“That over there….”

In the midst of the battlefield, where countless corpses approached, they could see the black-clad priests moving quietly.

A few black-robed priests, heads bowed and silently progressing among those in white robes.

As they stepped onto the battlefield, the cursed beings risen from death could no longer move.

As they knelt and prayed on the battlefield, the risen ones accepted death once more and laid their bodies on the ground.

When they finished their prayers, no longer did the moving corpses exist.

Thus, the black-robed priests, hiding once more among the white-robed clergy, began to head toward some unknown location.

The soldiers who witnessed such priests started to call the black-robed priests not as priests of death, but as priests of rest.

 

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